


Quiet Moments

by Angelwingsl3 (Marie_Fanwriter)



Series: M!Shakarian [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, M/M, ME3, New Relationship, family talks, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-04 15:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17900810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Fanwriter/pseuds/Angelwingsl3
Summary: There were these… quiet moments on the Normandy that came too damn few and far between one another. With the war raging on, the only time Garrus seemed to be able to find any solace was in these interstitial periods, where he’d tuck himself away in Shepard’s cabin.





	Quiet Moments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThreeWhiskeyLunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeWhiskeyLunch/gifts).



> A gift for ThreeWhiskeyLunch! I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Beta to be revealed with author reveals.

\---

There were these… quiet moments on the  _ Normandy _ that came too damn few and far between one another. With the war raging on, the only time Garrus seemed to be able to find any solace was in these interstitial periods, where he’d tuck himself away in Shepard’s cabin. Admittedly, it was something he only let himself bask in if his kit was in top shape, all the ship systems he had expertise in were running at peak performance, and when the reports and calibrations began to run together like wet paint instead of numbers and letters. The times when he needed a break more than sleep, food, or -arguably- air. 

The workload was, simply put, never-ending.

Garrus laid there now, staring up at the blue light from the aquarium creating shadows and swimming lights across the ceiling. He sighed, sinking further into a pile of pillows. Shepard had purchased most of them when they’d last been on the Citadel, to accommodate crest and carapace on a human bed. Another long, relaxed sigh fell out of him. The pillow horde was indeed, very comfortable. 

Between disembarking the Primarch and handling the Cerberus coupe, Garrus had no idea how they’d found the time for this particular quiet moment, but he was relieved nonetheless. His gaze drifted down to the man dozing against his chest, a well-muscled arm flung loosely over his waist. His mandibles shifted into a lazy smile as he watched Shepard’s shoulders rise and fall evenly.

John always seemed to make the time for him. As early as the SR-1 and hunting down Doctor Saleon. But this hadn’t been some grand gesture to ease Garrus’ mind before a big mission -the pillows were a simple question of comfort.

Their relationship was fresh, the transition from best friends to lovers only starting a week ago. Tentatively, Garrus traced patterns with his talons across the human’s shoulders and down his spine, still not a hundred percent sure this was real. It could be a particularly vivid dream he was having down on his extremely uncomfortable cot in the battery. That reality seemed more likely than... this.

“Keep that up,” Shepard mumbled after a few minutes. “And I really will fall asleep.”

Garrus’ smirked as he looked down at him, fingers stilling. Shepard’s eyes remained closed, and his body relaxed. “I thought you already were,” he rumbled in the register he’d found the man liked best.

It made Shepard sigh and nuzzle against chest plating, sleepy and gentle unlike he was anywhere else, or  _ with  _ anyone else. “Mmmnnnnot yet.”

“I don’t mind,” he offered quietly, resuming his talon’s wandering patterns and keeping up a pleased rumble in his chest. They were on the way to the Perseus Veil to meet the quarians. If time was ever on their side, it was now. “Get some rest.”

But Shepard shook his head, head leaning back to look Garrus in the eye. “We don’t get much time together. Should make the most of it.”

Garrus glanced down at their unclothed state, and a brow-plate shifted with amusement. “I thought we already did,” he teased.

“Ha, always the comedian.” Shepard rolled his eyes, despite the smile on his lips.

His left mandible flicked out, keeping the train of thought going. “If you’re asking for another round-” Garrus let his gaze drift down their bodies to where the blanket had fallen, only covering Shepard’s modesty. The angle of his hip jutted out from beneath the fabric enticingly.

Shepard knocked on the expanse of chest beside his keel with the knuckles of one hand, shutting him up. “I’m serious,” he said, kissing the pectoral-plate he’d just struck. It hadn’t been hard, but he appreciated the apology. “We should- I don’t know, talk or something.”

“Mhm, alright. About what?”

The feel of the room shifted with Shepard’s eyes. They went from amused to deeply concerned in mere seconds. Garrus resisted the urge to fidget, sitting up a bit straighter as he waited for an answer. He’d known Shepard long enough to understand the conversation was about to take a darker turn. Garrus hated it.

“Have you heard from your family yet?” Shepard asked.

Garrus shook his head once and looked away, his chest tightening like a vice. His hand slid from Shepard’s shoulder toward his hip as the weight of the question made his shoulders sink. “No. Nothing.” 

He felt a gentle hand on his mandible, gently pulling him back. “I’m sorry.”

Whether the man was apologizing for the question or the fact he hadn’t heard from his family, Garrus didn’t know. He tried to smile, but the expression felt threadbare. “They were on Palaven when the Reapers hit, but they were prepared. At least- more than most.” 

“I’m sure they’re okay.” The words rang hollow, and before Garrus could respond, Shepard interjected. “Sorry, the platitude probably doesn’t help.”

“It’s all right, Shepard. It’s war. We knew it was coming and even we couldn’t have imagined something like this. No one is safe.” He placed his palm over Shepard’s hand. “That’s why I’m here. I’m in the right place.”

Shepard nodded, more words sitting on the tip of his tongue. But he didn’t voice them until Garrus pressed his face into his hand and gently squeezed his fingers.

“What is it?” he asked. There was a sliver of hesitation in Garrus’ voice. If Shepard had news, he wasn’t sure he wanted it. Maybe not knowing was better?

“Liara shared some-” Shepard’s hand dropped away to rest on Garrus’ shoulder, his fingers gripping hard for a moment before releasing like he was worried about the outcome. “-files with me. On Hagalaz. Your mother. Is she-?” he drifted off.

“Passed to the Spirits,” Garrus said, the air catching in his throat. “About a month after I got back to Palaven. It-” the wind fell out of his mouth in a scoff as Garrus rubbed his crest. “I almost said, it was better that way.”

“I get it,” Shepard told him, pulling Garrus’ hand away from his crest so he could press his forehead to it. “I’m sorry I never got to meet her.”

A bitter but real smile returned to his face. “Mom would have liked you. Dad? Not so much.”

Shepard grinned, letting the conversation ebb away from darkness for a moment. “Which part?”

“The Spectre part mostly,” he answered pressing into Shepard’s touch. “Though he’ll be relying on Solana for grandchildren if we make it through this war.”

Laughing, Shepard pulled back. “What?” his hand went to his chest in mock-offence. “You don’t want a hoard of adopted krogan children? Wrex said he’d have extra.”

Garrus snorted. “Krogan? Really, Shepard?”

He rolled his eyes again, his smile breaking the tension between them. “Maybe human or turian kids then. We can settle down somewhere secluded. Live off the royalties from the vids?”

“At least make it somewhere warm,” Garrus joked. “A beach maybe.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t swim?”

“Turians, in general, don’t swim, Shepard.” He let out a long sigh and leaned back into the pillows. It felt a little better to have the words off his chest. To share them with his partner. He’d never wanted to bother Shepard with his mother’s illness. With everything else going on, it didn’t seem fair. He didn’t want to break the mood, but in truth, he knew he had to ask about Shepard’s family too. “Have- have you heard from your mother?”

Shepard’s smile dropped away, and he shook his head. “No. Not since Earth.”

Leaning forward, Garrus wrapped a hand around the back of Shepard’s neck and then pressed a gentle kiss to the human’s forehead. “Did they let you see her?”

“Yeah, once,” Shepard said as he curled back into Garrus’ side. “She was on shore leave while the  _ Orizaba _ was in for repairs. The visit was supervised, but it was nice to see her. I’m sure Vega would get a kick out of telling how it looked when she punched me in the arm before hugging me.”

Garrus huffed a laugh. “I thought Dad had short-circuited when he saw me, he just… sat there for a few seconds like he’d seen a Spirit. I’ve never seen him speechless.”

“Mhm. Mom wouldn’t stop talking,” Shepard grinned, wry and fond. “She’d heard some of what happened from Hackett, apparently yelled at him pretty good, too.”

“He deserved it,” Garrus muttered into Shepard’s hair, holding the man tight against his side. “Those six months you were away? They were brutal.”

“I can sympathize. They wouldn’t let me anywhere near the combat sims or practice range. Plus, it’s pretty challenging to get some  _ privacy _ in rooms full of live camera feeds.”

“ _ Privacy _ …?” he trailed off, waiting for the other half of an explanation, or more likely a joke, to fall.

Shepard just grinned, gaze flitting down Garrus’ chest to his abdomen and then back up. 

Garrus snorted, rolling his eyes at the obvious innuendo even as his throat flushed slightly at the thought of… well.

The hand on his hip squeezed playfully, and Shepard leaned in to kiss Garrus’ jawline, just under his mandible. “Care to test out my  _ private _ shower?”

Garrus took his hand. “You know it.”

\---


End file.
